Raspberry
by One More Disaster
Summary: "Taste the Rainbow" 'verse. A series of character study oneshots about the Blue Rangers, an episode at a time.
1. MMPR 001: Day of the Dumpster

**Title: **Raspberry  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own any person, place or thing you may recognize.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>T  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Ranger related violence; language  
><strong>Series: <strong>Taste the Rainbow  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Billy Cranston, William (Wild West Ranger), Cestro (Alien Ranger), Rocky De Santos, Justin Stewart, TJ Johnson, Kai Chen, Chad Lee, Lucas Kendall, Max Cooper, Tori Hanson, Ethan James, A-Squad Blue (SPD), Sky Tate, Bridge Carson, Madison Rocca, Dax Lo, Theo Martin, Flynn McAllistair, Kevin and Noah Carver; mentions of and appearances by the various other Rangers, Mentors, Allies, Civilians and Villains  
><strong>Spoilers: <strong>Eventual for all 20 seasons  
><strong>Author's Note: <strong>So, this is the latest in an idea that I had a while ago, to do a series of oneshot character studies focusing on each individual Ranger. This particular series focuses on the Blue Rangers, with the exception of Blake Bradley as his official designation is the Navy Ranger. As with the other pieces, this particular story is not a priority and will be updated as I have both the time and inclination.

Let me know what y'all think.  
>Fae<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>Day of the Dumpster  
><strong>Character: <strong>Billy Cranston  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>637  
><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Does anyone else have trouble writing Billy? Ugh. I don't know if this is- technical enough for Billy, but it's the best I can do.

How, oh how did he keep getting into these situations? Sure, the technology in that command center was incredible, but fighting aliens? He couldn't even manage a single karate class without messing up. Jason and Zack were better suited this sort of thing than he was.

Even the girls were putting up a better showing than he was. He hit the ground, hard, and didn't bother getting back up. He would just be in the way. Besides, staying down provided him the perfect opportunity to catch Kim when she was thrown at him. He caught Trini next, then all three of them caught Zack.

When Jason stumbled back a few seconds later and landed on Zack and Kim, that was when Billy knew they were in trouble. If their best fighter couldn't handle these things, what hope did the rest of them have?

That was why, when Jason mentioned those morphers, Billy was willing to suspend his disbelief and give it a chance. The idea that these simple devices would transform them into an elite fighting team strayed a little too close to the realm of magic for his scientific mind.

It didn't seem feasible, though the- as Zack had called it- giant floating head in a tube _did_ lend some credibility to the idea. So he gave it a chance, calling out the name of one of his favorite ancient creatures, the triceratops, and was pleasantly surprised when it actually worked.

They had barely morphed when they were being teleported back to Angel Grove proper to fight a flying monkey that Zordon had called Goldar

He didn't understand it. This didn't make any sense. How was it even possible that these small devices could manage something like this? More importantly, he could feel himself reacting on a level that he had never managed before. He somehow knew what he needed to do in a way that seemed natural for him.

It was unnatural. It defied science. He was unable to wrap his analytic mind around everything that was happening. This shouldn't be possible.

And yet, somehow it was.

The five of them had morphed into a team of multi-colored superheroes. They each had their own color, one that matched their personality. They dissolved into streams of multi-colored particles and flew through the air. Any skills they had previously were augmented, making them better than they were before.

They had access to large robotic machines called zords that they instinctively knew how to control. They could combine those zords to create a large megazord and, again, they instinctively knew how to control it.

This entire experience was surreal. Beyond surreal, even. He didn't understand it. He was having difficulty believing it, despite living it. If offered a second chance to officially become a Power Ranger, he was going to say yes, if only to have the chance at studying the technology behind the transformation, the suits, the zords and the fascinating equipment back at the command center.

Maybe he wasn't the strongest fighter, but perhaps there was something else he could offer the team. Someone had to help with maintenance and upkeep, after all, and as good as Alpha 5 may be, he was still a robot. Sometimes technology like that required a human touch for fine tuning and Billy was nominating himself for the position.

There was no one better suited for that role in all of Angel Grove, if he did say so himself. And if it meant that he'd be able to make sure his friends were safe by providing them with the best equipment possible- Well, no one could say he wasn't loyal.

And who knows. Perhaps the skills that seemed so natural to him while inside the suit would translate over to his ability in he wasn't morphed. Only time would tell.


	2. MMPR 002: High Five

**Title: **High Five  
><strong>Character: <strong>Billy Cranston  
><strong>Word Count: <strong>372  
><strong>Author's Note: <strong>This was- difficult and rather annoying. Every English teacher I have had and every writing book I have ever read has stressed the importance of avoiding purple prose and excessive use of a thesaurus. I had so much trouble geeking this up and making it more Billy-like. Hopefully it worked.

Anyway, let me know what y'all think.  
>Fae<p>

* * *

><p>He lay in bed, ruminating on an idea that had been percolating for the last few days.<p>

It was some distance to the Command Centre and Zordon couldn't just teleport them there whenever their assistance was required. For one, they could be in the classroom, increasing their knowledge and academic standing. For another, they could be conversing with someone unaware of their secret identities.

Spontaneous teleportation away from their prior engagements could potentially reveal the secret, no matter how well intentioned they were in regards to keeping it.

Another consideration was the possibility that there may not always be time to report to the Command Centre prior to being dispatched to whatever emergency required their attention.

What was required was some form of communications device so that Zordon could convey orders of what they were needed _for_ before teleporting them to that location.

It would need to be something inconspicuous so as not to arouse suspicions of its true nature. It should also double as something the average individual utilized on a regular basis for the same reason.

Perhaps the communications device could be concealed inside a watch. It was something worn by multiple persons and wouldn't stand out as unusual.

He would also have to determine if it were possible for him to connect the devices to the Morphing Grid, allowing them the option of teleportation without relying on Alpha and Zordon to control it. That may be beyond his capabilities at present, considering he had as yet only examined a sampling of the technology present in the Command Centre, however he would allow for the eventuality and request assistance from Alpha the next time the opportunity was presented.

Additionally, he needed to avail himself of the new technology at his disposal. Imagine all of the equipment he could create based on alien technology. Equipment as yet unavailable to the inhabitants of earth by virtue of their somewhat limited resources.

Admittedly, that they had rudimentary computers and telephones was a testament to their ingenuity, resourcefulness and sheer tenacity.

The possibilities presented to him now were infinite and he intended to take maximum advantage of them in making things easier for himself and his friends in their endeavors to protect and defend the planet.


End file.
